February 2009

February 28, 2009

Hey everybody, greetings from Newport Beach! The family and I are on vacation, something we haven't been able to do together since Ozzie and Sophie came to live with us. We used to have the aged grandparents take care of our dog while we went away, but they are getting a bit doddery and aren't up for that experience any longer. Particularly with the two dogs we own currently.

But I found a place to board them!!!! You won't believe this, but my dogs are on a Safari. Down the road from us there is a place called Vision Quest in Salinas. Check it out, it is pretty interesting. Sometimes we can even hear the lions roaring from our back yard. It turns out they have a pet boarding kennel! Seriously, it is a mile from us.

We dropped the fuzzy kids off this morning just before hitting 101 South. My husband had a very hard time saying good bye, but I think they will be ok. You can get a room with hotel beds, tv and even a web cam so you can check on your pups while you are on vacation. The picture below is from the kennel brochure. They look pretty happy.

Ozzie and Sophie were super excited when we arrived. Ozzie could not believe his eyes as we drove down the driveway and saw this:

I'll let you know how it goes. We were greeted by a gigantic parrot that said "Heeellllll-oooooo" and "I'm the problem". Hope he doesn't drive the dogs nuts. He was pretty chatty.

Maybe I'll see Mickey while I am down in the South Land. Much relaxing, window shopping, and Disney activities are planned. Cheerio for now.

February 26, 2009

That was such an interesting discussion of whether or not our pets should be allowed on our quilts. The general consensus was that they should be, unless they might potentially damage the quilt (due to sharp nails or a tendancy to chew on them). We quilters are an open hearted and generous breed. I appreciated all your comments and am in the process of trying to answer everyone. Thanks for sharing!

There were some terrible stories of Quilt Abuse as well. Quilts used under bird cages, quilts used as painting drop cloths, and the worst offense of all: quilts being packed away and never being used by the recipient. How sad. I have given my in laws three or four quilts, but they do not use them because they think they are "too good". They just don't get the point that my quilts are made with love, with the intention that they provide warmth and comfort. At least one of my quilts resides on the bed in their guest room, but they cover it with a sheet so it will stay clean.

Several of you have inquired about the quilt on my banner. I started suffering from a bit of batik overload, so I changed out the batik photo with one of a basket quilt I made five or so years ago. The pattern is one by Fig Tree, and is called Simple Baskets I believe. The blocks are pieced, but the handles were hand appliqued on. I did use the Celtic Bias Bars to get the handles all the same. It is a lap size quilt, and I have to admit, I made it with Christmas decor in mind, but I find that I like to keep it out all year long! The fabrics are a number of 3 Sisters designs and old Robyn Pandolf Folk Art Christmas prints I had in my stash.

February 25, 2009

Here are my sleepy dogs, settling in for their morning naps. They have had their walk and their breakfasts, and are going back to bed for a little lie in. They can be good sometimes. For short periods of time.

And yes, that is one of my favorite quilts that Ozzie is lying on. Zuzu's Petals by Miss Rosie's Quilt Company. Quilts are as much a part of my dogs' lives as they are mine. I have them all over the house, draped on every surface, and we ALL use them. After all, they do wash up well. The quilts that is.

I believe in treating my quilts respectfully, but I am not obsessive about it.

We have all heard horror stories of a quilter slaving painstakingly over a wedding quilt and visiting the home of the young couple and finding their quilt stuffed in the dog crate. Or people who use a quilt under the car while they are changing the oil. Those instances are criminal offenses.

The worst story I ever heard was from a woman who was searching online at lostquilt.com for her missing quilt. It was the last quilt that her mother ever made before she died and it was precious beyond words to her. While she was out one day, burglars broke into the house and stole her husbands gun collection. As an afterthought as the crooks were leaving the house, they grabbed the heirloom quilt to wrap the guns in. The woman spent many years trying to locate her mother's last quilt. I wonder if she ever succeeded.

How do you feel about animals on your quilts? What is the worst case of Quilt Abuse have you heard of?

February 24, 2009

Several friends have remarked on the recent posts with photos of Sophie, and wondered how her brother Ozzie is doing. He is doing just fine. Same ol', same ol'. I had thought perhaps he had given up his wild ways and penchant for chewing things up. I had hoped that he had now settled down into young doggie adult hood and was ready to act like a good citizen. I suppose you can see where this is going.

I came home from work Monday afternoon and climbed over the puppy gate into the family room and kitchen. You know how you just have a feeling that something is not right? That some small object or detail has been changed? Hey, weren't there TWO Pottery Barn wintery bark candles on the coffee table?

Gasp. What the.....?

"Who did that? Did YOU do that? What bad dog ate my candle and made this big mess??!!"

Ozzie's response was to slink off into his dog crate, which I took to be an admission of guilt. Sophie just sat and wagged her tail, as if to say "I TOLD you that was a bad idea bro". Maybe she is an excellent actress, but I believe Ozzie was indeed the culprit.

After I let him out of jail I showed him the mess again and tried to reason with him.

Oh, I think he is sorry and all that. But does he "get" it? I don't think so. Darn. I really liked that candle.

February 23, 2009

I had such a great time participating in the OP Sew Along that Pat Sloan hosted this weekend! My version of orange was a bit toned down I suppose, but it worked for me. While I was working on the challenge quilt, a little bell tinkled in the back of my mind. I vaguely recalled that I had started a quilt about three years ago, and for some reason, didn't finish it and just put it up on a shelf in the stash closet. The fabric I had used was Nell's Flower Shop, and had a lovely soft orange shade in it along with some aquas and greens, just like the fabric I was using for the OP Challenge!

I got out the step stool and had a look. What I found was the entire quilt top, minus the borders. Why on earth had I put the quilt away when it was so close to being finished? The border fabric was right there with the quilt top so I got to work and got the thing finished yesterday.

The nice thing is how well it matches the OP Challenge quilt! Once I get both of them quilted, I will have a very nice Fall look for my master bedroom! I can have the big quilt on the bed and the smaller one on my chaise lounge in my little reading nook.

Then I remembered why I set the larger quilt aside in frustration. I had fussy cut the center square of each block so that the little birdy motif was set off just perfectly. What's wrong with that you ask? This is what went wrong:

Once the blocks were set together, every single little birdy is oriented sideways. He looks like he is taking a major nose dive off of his branch. Oh well. For some reason, it doesn't bother me so much now. I have never cared for the expression "better done than perfect", but it seems to fit this situation.

I got the notion to use dark brown wherever she used white. I have to say the design of the squares shows up much better in her version. Mine is a bit odd looking by comparison, with the brown standing out too much in my opinion. You have to experiment now and then I think, and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I still think this one is a keeper, and I am so glad it reappeared!

I decided on a diagonal set for my OP Sew Along quilt. There was just *barely* enough of the light fabric left for the setting triangles. I really squeaked by on this one! The results please me very much. It is plenty orange all right, but not in too much of an "in your face" kind of way.

Now I am going to play with a scrappy border.

If you are working on the OP Challenge and have something to share, drop me a comment because I would love to see what you are doing!

I staggered out of bed this morning for my coffee, choosing the orangest cup I own, and turned on the computer to see what was up with Pat Sloan's OP (Orange Pile) Sew Along. Carrie finished her entire quilt yesterday! She did a mini size and it is a wonderful study in the use of color. Susan got seven blocks done, and has been up for hours stitching away by now, since she is on the East Coast.

To my delight, I finished a total of ten blocks on Day One. I am super pleased with them, and especially happy that I found a bundle of April Cornell fabrics that I had totally forgotten I owned! I really ought to go through my stash closet more often. I keep putting new things on the shelves and covering up some treasures that get buried in the back.

While I was rummaging around, I pulled out a bag of Asian fabrics that Ozzie recently pulled out from under the bed in the sewing room. They had also been missing for some time. I was thinking that they were a mish mash of miscellaneous Asians of all colors. Once I had a better look, I was fairly astounded.

Now I recall that a couple of years ago, I had a notion to make one of those Chinese Lantern quilts, and the colors I picked were black and orange Asian prints. Aren't they something? Wouldn't they be awesome in this project?

No. I am not going to start another OP Project with these fabrics. I don't think. They sure would be cool though. Hmmmm......

I have changed my mind. I was rummaging in the back of the stash closet for maybe one more fat quarter of orange, and found an entire bundle of orange, aqua, green and brown fabrics. How could I have forgotten I had this? It is so perfect, I just had to start over.

New color scheme: orange and brown. I will never get any blocks sewn at this rate.